


A bit of Chaos

by PaisleyWraith



Category: South Park
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-05-08 03:13:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14685255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaisleyWraith/pseuds/PaisleyWraith
Summary: Trips to the bank are frustrating enough, and once Clyde’s caught inside with a complete psycho floating around like he owns the place, things continue going downhill.





	1. The Holdup

Chaos. 

This was something Clyde had only seen from afar. Chaos was Mysterion’s foe. He and Craig never touched that bag of crazy. They went after little baddies, thieves and muggers and stuff. Then Craig got involved in an elemental, walked off with hearts in his eyes, and it was super cute and totally awesome but it was a duo. Not a trio. 

Most days he just jumped from one group to another. Craig and his new boyfriend never pushed him away, Token was super cool but was starting to stay off the road and help from the sidelines. 

He liked the road, though. People got excited when they showed up, he got to help people and chat with girls and make friends with police. He had weird powers but they worked and he could fight a little with his hands. 

What what he wasn’t capable of? Fighting the big scary guy himself. 

Professor Chaos! The unstable and crazy super villain of the city. Mysterion was his foil, but the man’s partner had almost been killed last week by some newbie they underestimated and Mysterion hadn’t been seen since. 

Also newbie disappeared that night and no one ever found him. 

Which was fucking scary. 

Not quite as scary as this though. Clyde was pressed against the back wall of the bank, mouth clamped shut. 

Now see, normally it was just his lackeys who went around robbing people and causing trouble, the big guy and his right hand man didn’t bother themselves with mundane stuff like this, but they’d been caught and vault guards had been handcuffing the minions when Chaos himself blew in the front doors. 

Turns out this was a city-wide heist and Chaos himself happened to have been next door. Also turns out he didn’t like people trying to take down the minions of chaos while he had a plan going. 

And of course, Clyde himself happened to be at the bank trying to get his mother’s name off his account. Something so dumb and little that should’ve taken two seconds got him stuck there while the whole thing went down. 

Chaos floated in front of the building, like some kind of freaky ghost. Clyde couldn’t breathe. He’d never seen the guy in person this close. The whole place went quiet, even his own goons looked nervous. 

Clyde swallowed. He wasn’t even in his uniform, even if he could stand a chance against the supervillain. He watched the blond sneer at the officers, who raised their weapons and directed them at the being. 

“Hands up!” One of the guards shouted. “Hands where we can see them!”

Chaos didn’t even lift a finger. He just smiled. 

Clyde flinched as a crack sounded, light filling the room as electricity sparked from the levitating man through the officers one by one, who collapsed as soon as it was over. 

Chaos watched, smirking, before turning his gaze on the patrons. People were huddled either on the ground or against the wall, and most refused to look him in the eyes. Terror was just...you could feel it. 

“Well,” The supervillain said gleefully, gaze traveling down the line of people. “We disabled the alarm in the bank, but somehow the police are still on the way! Who called the police?” 

Clyde hadn’t. He hadn’t been that quick. If Chaos meant he also disabled the alarms under the teller’s desk, that would explain why he was specifically watching the patrons rather than the workers. 

Oh God normally he would give anything not to run into Mysterion. Here he was wishing he was around. 

No one was speaking. Clyde took a breath. Slow. Feel. What could he feel? 

High sensory was like his only cool power, and right now it told him nothing. Everyone was terrified, just about equally terrified, he could tell from the exhale of carbon dioxide, the thrum of hearts, the smell of sweat. And on Chaos’ side, he was cool as could be. In his element. Enjoying it. 

“Well, see, this is kinda awkward now,” Professor Chaos laughed, his voice sickly sweet and nauseating. “I can’t let you push me and my friends around. So which one of you called the police? The rest can go.” 

Chaos was terrifying. The guards on the ground weren’t moving and honestly he was really hoping they were still alive. Hoping. All while chaos looked them over with a smug smile and power-hungry eyes. 

Clyde’s first thought startled him. He was a hero, yes, but not...he wasn’t anyone important. Special. Particularly heroic. And yet he blurted out first thing, 

“I did.” 

Everyone looked at him. Chaos turned. Clyde was about to die. 

“Don’t let anyone leave,” Professor Chaos instructed a lackey. Clyde’s heart sank. The villain approached, sneering down at him. Focused on him. He was close enough to touch if Clyde ever wanted to die a little faster. 

“What’s your name?” Chaos asked, leaned in towards the brunet. 

God his eyes were weird. Pale, mismatched, his left eye damaged and scarred from when Mysterion tried actually killing him. It had been a nuts fight, and Chaos had just gotten crazier since. 

Clyde didn’t speak. 

“Are you shy?” Chaos smiled, warmly and with icy, unfriendly eyes. “What’s your name?” 

His mouth was dry and he could feel the villain breathing. This was insanity. 

Professor Chaos ripped the paper he was holding out of his hands, sweaty and rather crumpled due to his current stress. Clyde just watched, helplessly, back against the wall. 

“Betsy Donovan?” Chaos cheerfully handed his paper back. “That’s an interesting one, but it suits you!” 

“It’s Clyde,” He stammered, eyes flicking away. The lackeys were loose and one was stuffing money in bags, the rest with weapons making people line up against the wall more neatly. “Betsy was my mom.” 

“Sorry to hear that,” Chaos said in the background, as he focused on the wide-open doors. “Must be hard for you.” 

His eyes flicked back to the lackeys. All they needed was like seven seconds. 

“Yeah. It was kinda my fault,” Clyde said, making his decision. His heart thudded in his chest. “She died two months ago. She missed seeing me graduate.” 

“Oh.” Chaos actually sounded a little embarrassed. “I...um...” 

One power. One useless power, something that made him more of a laughingstock than a hero, but this might just work. 

He just needed seven seconds. 

“My dad’s real upset,” Clyde blathered on, focusing on feeling. Call, congregate here. Feel the carbon dioxide of their breath and the heat of their bodies. “I think he blames me.” 

The supervillain was staring, expression stuck somewhere between utter confusion and a look as if he was afraid _Clyde_ was the one not quite sane. 

“I....m not suure....” Chaos was dragging out, slowly and unblinkingly as he stared at Clyde, “Um. Are you okay?” 

“No, not really,” Clyde babbled, heart racing as he realized his success. “But everyone’s got their problems, right?” 

The hum that had been in the air, the summer hum of bugs outside in trees and sunlight, turned into a roar. 

Chaos whirled to see a swarm of bugs, gnats, flies, bees, cicadas, mosquitoes. Clyde wanted to congregate in all the Chaos’ crew’s spaces and they did. He had a couple moments. 

“Go!” He shouted at the other patrons. “Run! Get outside!” 

“It’s Mosquito!” Someone shouted, and it was a great thing to be recognized because he was probably going to die now. 

“Hurry it up!” He told them, shoo’ing them out and turning around, whole body shaking as he stood between the crazy people and the ones trying to escape. Oh god he wished creepy old Mysterion was around. 

Chaos flew out of the flurry, making odd squeaks as he waved his arms around. His ankles hit the edge of the teller desks and he paused, eyes settling on Clyde. 

He was going to die. He knew his identity, his real name, and he’d know his address and everything and even if he ran he was dead, dead. His life was over. He trembled, hand clutching his mother’s death certificate. He stared Chaos down and the villain narrowed his eyes. 

“You’re that brawler,” Chaos accused, moving to tans on the desk as his feet gently touched down. “The one with the insects that hangs out with the Duo.” 

“Uh huh,” What was the point in denial? His legs felt numb. “That’s me.” 

“You think you can take on a supervillain?” Sparks arched through the air as Professor Chaos proudly waved a hand. “Are you trying to make me mad?” 

“You always seem kinda mad, to be honest,” Clyde blurted stupidly. “And no, I don’t think I can take you. But you...you wouldn’t let them go, they didn’t do anything, they were...they were scared and...” 

Chaos was watching him oddly. “You didn’t call the police, didja Clyde?” 

“No,” He admitted. “I’m not that quick to think. I’m not even a very good brawler, to be honest, and the bug thing is like, my only thing, but...I mean, I wear the masks, you know? Sometimes it means responsibility.” 

Chaos was quiet, even his cloak still for once. Clyde was even more terrified. 

“Ever watch that Spider-Man with Toby McGuire?” He asked, sweat dripping down his neck. “Power and responsibilities, you know?” 

“That’s not just...that’s all...” Chaos stopped himself, nose wrinkled, and then jumped off the counter to glide gently down about three feet from Clyde. 

Clyde didn’t move. He clutched his mother’s name a little tighter. 

“Look, I know I’m no match for you,” Clyde said, trying not to back away. “But I couldn’t let you hurt people. That’s all.”

Chaos narrowed his eyes, a look of anger swiping across it before he looked thoughtful again. 

“Well you’re going to have to change your mentality!” Chaos smiled, saccharine sweet, pushing Clyde away with both hands until he stumbled two feet. “Cause from now on, I’m declaring you an arch enemy!” 

“What?!” Clyde said, as the bug mist finally dissipated and the rather traumatized lackeys surfaced. 

“You,” Chaos rose up higher, pointing at the brunet boy. “Mosquito, made a very powerful enemy today!” 

“I- what are you-“

“You will face the wrath of Chaos!” The villain raised his hand, all theatrics. “You’ve been warned! I’ll be back for you!” 

“I don’t-”

“Minions!” Chaos made a sweeping motion. “To the safe point!” 

The thugs looked all too happy to run away from the place that was still faintly buzzing, Clyde standing gobsmacked in the middle of an empty bank. 

He stared at Chaos, the supervillain smirking down at him with a satisfied look. 

“You haven’t seen the last of me,” He warned, floating backwards to the open doors. “Be warned, Clyde Donovan. I’ll be back!” 

And with that, Clyde was left alone. 

Some papers fluttered across the floor, and a large amount of bugs were humming happily on the ceiling. 

Clyde sank down to sit on the floor, uncrumpling the paper that was now damaged beyond salvage. 

Everything was eerily quiet, summer air wafting in the front doors. 

“Well now I’ve fucked up,” Clyde said, weakly, sprawled out on expensive wood paneling.


	2. The Duo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As requested, I've made this a continuation for you!

Clyde stayed awake all that night. He picked up his phone more times an hour than...more than six an hour, probably, wanting to call Craig or Token or Jimmy or even Tweek but he talked himself out of it. He couldn’t put them in danger. 

Plus, Craig was gonna be soooo mad when he found out Clyde totally outed himself in front of the general public. 

So he trembled in his living room all night long, a warm blanket thrown over him and the windows and doors of his apartment covered and locked. Oh, he wished he didn’t live alone. He hated living alone. But Token had a girlfriend and Craig had Tweek and Jimmy traveled a lot for his superhero-based comedy gig and Clyde didn’t have a whole lot of other people that tolerated him. 

So here he was, about to die once Chaos figured out where he lived and broke down his door. He might send his lackeys, which Clyde was kinda hoping for. He might be able to take them. Chaos, though. The guy was unpredictable and had actual powers and was totally crazy as fuck. It was scary to think he’d not only declared him an enemy but knew his name. 

Clyde curled further into his sad little blanket ball. He was starting to freak himself out. Chaos could fly, what if he was so quiet he didn’t hear him come in? And then he was murdered from behind or something! He was never going to live. He was going to die before he was a quarter of a year old. Or hell, even twenty if chaos hurried up with it. Days. Months. Years. He was gonna have to change his name and move countries. 

Nothing in the apartment stirred. The clock above the tv ticked on. He missed his childhood dog. He should get a puppy. Or if his sister wasn’t staying permanently overseas, he could live with her. Or move back in with his dad. 

Clyde’s heart twisted. He hadn’t really talked to either his sister or his dad since the funeral. He’d already had his apartment picked out. Mom left some money for him, and he’d cried over that a lot and stored it away. Sure, he could’ve used it, his tv sat on the floor and so did his mattress, but using it for something dumb felt...wrong. 

Especially if he was to blame. 

Clyde’s eyes watered. He wished she hadn’t left him anything. He didn’t deserve it. He deserved to be destitute and lonely and ugly and live under a bridge forever. Like a troll. A stupid, sad little troll. 

He wished she’d known about his hero work. Maybe she’d forgive him in the afterlife if he had told her. 

Clyde sniffled, wiping his eyes on the blanket. Maybe he’d meet up with Craig and Tweek tomorrow. Hang out, catch some baddies. Hope his Mom’s spirit or angel or ghost could watch and see her son might be awful and stupid, but he didn’t mean to be. 

I mean, hey. He was declared an arch enemy by someone super, super awful, so that had to mean something, right? 

Clyde could see sunlight coming in through the blinds. He whined, covering his face. Chaos could be out night or day. He was never going to be safe again. He was never going to be able to sleep again. 

He picked himself up off the floor to shower and change. His costume was a bit sad, just a worn and cozy hoodie thrown over a shirt and pants. Boots, a beanie to cover his hair, a mask covering his mouth and nose. Mostly for the little buggy friends he had. It wasn’t nice to ask for help and then accidentally inhale that help. 

He slipped out the back as usual, gloved hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets as he walked along the path he normally took to meet up with his pals. 

Everyone kinda had their area of the city. For the most part...Mysterion and, later, his partner The Kite, tended to wander from one place to another. The Coon did, too. Everyone else though, they kinda had their jurisdiction. Clyde mostly stuck with Craig and Tweek...The Duo Strike, they were called. They were usually wandering the area in about an hour or so. 

People waved to him on the street, and Clyde waved back, offering a smile that probably looked manic with effort. People were mostly cool with him, they didn’t see him or Craig as “threats” and so they were mostly ignored. Seen as some cool underdogs rolling with some big people. 

Nah, people were scared of the psychics, the speedsters, and especially the Elementals. Chaos and Kite, were a mix of psychic and Elemental, making them a little unpopular just from the start. Though it sounded like Kite had been gaining some popularity before he got hurt. 

Mysterion was kind of an oddball. He showed up as a brawler at first, the only guy who could take on Chaos. Then years pass and he’s some kinda dark demon magic shit kinda guy, and then Kite shows up and steps on his toes all the time and there’s this major sexual tension between the two until they start hanging out all the time. 

A few papers in the city shipped it. Clyde shipped it. MysteriKite4ever. Old creepy Myst had seemed a lot more easygoing and less scare-your-balls-off-freakshow since he dropped by. But, of course, no one shipped anything like this city shipped the Duo. 

So popular they had their own capitalization, the two heroes were arguing in front of Clyde as he jogged up. Both in blue, a taller boy and a shorter blond, the former having raised his voice in uncharacteristic irritation. 

“And that’s not what I’m saying!” Craig was definitely agitated, standing like all his muscles were locked. “We handled it just fine, babe. It’s okay.” 

“I had to drag your body off the docks!” Tweek was speaking shrilly, voice trembling in his attempt to keep it even. “It’s decidedly not okay and we’re not going back!” 

Ah, love. 

“Are you talking about his body, or dragging someone he killed off the docks?” Clyde chirped in, coming to interject in a conversation he had nothing to do with. “What’s happening?” 

Craig was shaking his head at him, quickly, but Tweek seemed glad to have an audience for once. 

“This...stupid...asshole...” Tweek pointed in case Clyde couldn't figure out who he meant, “Went after a rock fucker yesterday-”

Clyde coughed on his snort of laughter. Please tell him his name was rock fucker and it wasn’t just Tweek sputtering insults in a rage. 

“-Got his ass handed to him, we weren’t even supposed to be there- I’m left alone to stop them from leaving the area or hurting Craig, _alone_ , and he’s back up after being knocked on the floor for at least three minutes within twenty-four hours and wants to go back and fight these guys!” 

“They’re still there and I’m going back,” Craig rolled his eyes. “You can ‘not like it’ all you want.” 

“You got hurt and you want to go back?” Clyde pointed out. “Alone?” 

“Thank you!” Tweek clapped him on the back, surprising him with the show of touch, before whirling on Craig. “You’re not going!” 

“I’ll go with you,” Clyde offered. 

“Are you also crazy?” Tweek went back to him. “Neither of you are going! It’s a whole troupe of Elementals and I’m not babysitting the two of you so that you don’t end up dumped off the docks!”

“I don’t need to be babysat,” Craig argued. “They caught me off guard.” 

“You went down in one hit!” Tweek bristled, just as the ground shook. 

FWOOM

The three froze, listening, a faint alarm in the street. 

They flew back along the road, fighting through crowds of people fleeing and mostly abandoning the street and the trio slowed to a stop. 

The park, the secondmost really nice one, was partly on fire. Clyde gaped, Craig was looking around for a culprit, and Tweek was already trying to formulate enough snow and ice to extinguish what he started. 

“What the hell?” Craig muttered, gently catching Tweek’s arm. The hero froze. “There’s no way you can put that out, sweetie. Isolate it.” 

Tweek exhaled harshly, jerking his arm away with a flushed face. “Don’t talk to me like I’m your bitch, Craig, I’m still fucking pissed.” Regardless, he began driving lightning in direct lines on the ground, burning the grass towards the blaze so it had nowhere to spread. 

Clyde decided to take a jab at his best friend. “Nah, man, everyone knows you'd be the last person to be the bitch-,” Clyde felt Craig smack him in the back of the head, and it hurt, but that finally made Tweek snort and the scowl melted off his face as he kept the fire contained. 

Clyde righted his hat with a grin. Tweek spoke pretty harsh when he was angry, but he was fiercely protective of Craig. A little too much, they had some shit to figure out, but he wasn’t concerned with his swearing and snips. Craig gave back every word he took. 

Who knew the secret to relationships was irritable arguments and calling your significant other a bitch and-

Craig grabbed his shoulder. Or he thought Craig grabbed his shoulder. When he turned to give his friend a weird look for being that rough with him, he was staring one of Chaos’ lackeys in the face. As protocol, he reacted the way most heroes did. 

“AhhHH!” Clyde screeched and shoved him away before he even thought about what was happening. Craig and Tweek turned, freezing when they recognized the uniform. 

“It’s you!” The goon said, pointing a bit stupidly at Clyde. He turned towards a hulking friend, who was watching the fire in something akin to...I don’t know man, arousal, maybe, that shit was weird. “Tell the boss!” 

“Tell the what?!” Clyde stammered, just as an ice spike as thick as his leg and taller than a him and a half flew past, so close to his face he felt a rush of cold. “Tell the who what?!”

Craig grabbed him by the back of his hood, yanking him onto the ground in front of him and Tweek. 

“Why the fuck are they here?” Craig still had a handful of his hoodie and it was making it impossible to stand or sit down, making Clyde scramble to crouch. “Why are they calling Chaos?” 

“That’s the thing, I almost called you last night,” Clyde squeaked. “I had a problem yesterday.” 

Both parts of the Duo were staring at him incredulously. 

“ _What_ problem?” Tweek demanded, just as the rest of the pedestrian stragglers were running. 

The fire crackled at their back as they looked up, Professor Chaos with his arms crossed, cloak billowing. Staring directly at Clyde. 

“Yep. That’s a good answer,” Clyde said without taking his eyes of him. “He’s gonna want me. Go.” 

Tweek made a startled, high-pitched noise when Chaos tilted his head and smiled, finally. 

“Hi, Clyde,” He said, and the boy heard Craig inhale. “I didn’t know you’d be out today.” 

Oh god. Of all times not to have a badass line, he never quite regretted not having one more than him not having one here. 

“Yup.” Clyde wished Craig would let go of his damn jacket. “Here I am.” 

Those bizarre, pale blue eyes flit just behind him, something truly terrifying twisting his expression. 

“Well you must be WonderStrike and SuperStrike,” Chaos shifted his jaw, eyes narrowing. “I don’t think we’ve met.” 

Oh god he was going to die. And he was going to get his friends killed, too. Clyde was shaking. 

Chaos’ gaze returned to Clyde. 

“Fuck you!” Tweek burst, the air around the three becoming frostier by the moment. “What do you want with Mosquito?” 

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Chaos spoke like he was talking to a two year old, which was going to piss the Elemental off. 

Craig finally let go of Clyde's hood to reach for Tweek, making Clyde stumble into a sit as he stared up at Chaos. 

“You know, I think it is,” Tweek was ready to fight. Craig was holding him back and Clyde realized he might be the only one to cut this off early. 

“Hey,” He said, and Chaos’ sneering glare switched to interest so quickly it made him queasy. “Uh. Look, whatever issue you’ve got with me is mine, right?” Clyde winced, wishing he sounded a little more badass. “So you can...leave them alone.”

“Over my dead body, Clyde!” Tweek snarled, and Clyde would later be utterly touched by his protectiveness. “What the fuck do you want?” 

“I think it’s time you go,” Craig said boldly at the same time. 

Chaos didn’t look amused. “Oh, you can’t even reach me, stop talking over there,” he waved a hand at Craig. “And maybe I do just want to deal with Clyde. Whatcha think?” The villain directed his gaze to the boy. “You’re my enemy, Clyde. Do you work alone or with others?” 

Wait was this a choice of some kind? Clyde felt clammy. He didn’t understand what was happening. 

“Clyde-” Tweek was warning, but he was already talking. 

“Alone?” Sounded like the safest thing, one that excluded Craig and Tweek from whatever Chaos had in store for him. 

The supervillain grinned, lighting up like Clyde had just given him a much-desired gift, and it turned just a touch maniacal. 

“Good!” Professor Chaos made a movement and world erupted around him. 

His lackeys were still around, in swarms, but all Clyde saw was the lightning. He squinted against the sheer amount of light, hand trying desperately to shield himself. 

The sound was deafening, snaps and crashes as Clyde took a step backwards. His ears were ringing. When he could see again, Chaos had created some kind of barrier between them and his friends, cars were overturned, and the villain was watching Clyde like he was expecting a reaction. 

He knew this guy was crazy. Just smiling at him, like the brawler was in class and he was waiting for him to answer an equation. Clyde tried to peer through the flickering line of lightning to see his friends, when Chaos slowly touched down on the ground. 

He walked towards Clyde, purposeful and calm, long cape billowing behind him even without a wind. 

“I don’t understand,” Through all of this, Clyde wasn’t being hurt. He pushed his hat further up on his head and tried not to back away. “What are you doing?” 

“What are _you_ doing?” Chaos countered, coming without about four paces of the boy. “Aren’t you a hero?” 

“Aren’t you a villain?” Clyde’s honest question surprised the Elemental, and he momentarily felt encouraged by the unintended cleverness. “Why are you giving me a chance to hurt you?” He could take Clyde down easily. He wasn’t a threat, not even to nothings of the town. Certainly not to Chaos. 

The genial look on the villain’s face turned darker, a sneering grim line for a mouth and cold eyes. 

“Well…maybe I know you’re not worth it,” He said, taking another step forward. “Or maybe I’m trying to figure you out. What you gotta know is that you don’t get to ask me questions. Okay?” 

This was getting too far over Clyde’s head. This sounded like he was trying to make a deal with Clyde. Like he wanted something. What the fuck that was, he had no clue. It didn’t make any sense. 

“Okay,” He tested, just to see what reaction that got him. The sneer lessened, into an expression cautious and unfriendly but not overtly threatening. “Okay.” 

What to do. He wasn’t Mysterion, he couldn’t fight Chaos, and who knows how Craig and Tweek were faring. Number one priority was save his bros. Clyde was good at procrastination, maybe he could work with that. 

“Okay,” He said stupidly for a third time. “But this is kind of cowardly for you.” 

Chaos visibly started and Clyde just about died. He spoke quickly, hopefully before the other had a chance to process all of what he just said. 

“I just mean, if you’re going to fight me, it’s not fair to involve them,” Clyde was making up the bullshit as he went along. Basically his high school career was built on how well he could fumble along in time. “Look, I’ll…do whatever, just let’s do this one on one, right? Like men. No friends, no goons. I’ll let you decide all when and stuff?” 

Chaos pursed his lips. He looked between Clyde’s eyes and took another step. He was almost within arm’s reach and Clyde really, really, really wanted to back away from Mr. Psycho-Pants before he blew up at him. 

“Don’t call names,” He said, again bringing Clyde back to memories of the schoolyard. Scary as he was, Chaos talked like one of the kids who’d get beaten up on a daily basis. Don’t call names. Sheesh. 

“Sorry?” He was pretty sure he caught wind of Mysterion saying some pretty colorful things to his face. Coward wasn’t really that high up there on the list. But this seemed to placate the evil villain and he smiled again in that Imma-Kill-Ya kinda way. 

He dropped the barrier, and without saying anything any minions Clyde could see scattered. He didn’t see his friends. 

“So you know that old watch factory in town?” Chaos was saying, cheerfully as anything. “The one from back in the day?” 

“Yeah?” Clyde turned back towards him, watching as he levitated once again just above Clyde’s height. 

“You’re going to come there tomorrow,” The Professor told him. “Sometime after noon would be nice.” 

“All…right…” He felt like he was signing a contract of some sort. The kind that sent your soul straight to hell. 

“Great!” Chaos moved well out of reach, cloak flowing prettily. “It’ll be nice to actually talk to you alone. And you are gonna be alone,” He reassured Clyde sweetly. “If I see anyone with you, if you tell anyone, I’m killing them. And I mean that. Understand?” 

He took a long breath. “Got it,” He promised, feeling utterly helpless. 

Chaos smiled. He lifted his hand and Clyde cringed against the light and the feeling of white-hot heat. Naturally this was an exit of sorts, because when he was able to see past his aching retinas he was gone. 

Clyde felt even more confused than he had yesterday. 

The fire was almost out, the other side of the park was being attended to by the fire department. He jogged along the street, heart in his throat when he didn’t immediately see his friends. 

A Chaos Minion flew across the street straight into a garbage can, knocking it over and sending the bin rolling into the burnt grass of the park. 

Clyde looked up. Craig was staring back at him, a plethora of emotions running through his eyes until he settled on Good Old Annoyance. Craig Brand. 

“He’s over here!” Craig called over his shoulder and began storming over to him. “You complete-”

He was intercepted by a pissed off Elemental, who zipped past Craig to grab Clyde and shake him violently before briefly squishing him. 

Clyde wasn’t sure if Tweek was okay with being touched or not, so his hands awkwardly hovered in the air. 

“YouFUCKINGmoron!” Tweek’s mismatched eyes were filled with fury. “Let others do the talking- You should’ve let us- I can’t _believe_ -”

“Did you just hug me?” Clyde’s brain finally caught up with the situation, and he felt himself tear up. Tweek hated touching people, much less touching people in any kind of physical expression of affection. “You just hugged me.” 

Craig had his arms folded and was leaning against an overturned car like he was bored. His jaw was set and he looked like he was only holding back because Tweek was scarier when angry. 

“He just hugged me,” Clyde pointed out to Craig in disbelief. 

Tweek also lightly smacked his face to gain his focus. 

“What was that all about?” The Elemental demanded angrily. “We don’t deal with Chaos! Why was he after you?” 

“He knew your real name,” Craig got off the car to stalk behind his boyfriend, tall enough to glare down at Clyde over his head. “What happened yesterday?” 

“There was a problem at the bank was all,” Clyde blinked away residual threats of tears as Tweek let him go to settle his hands on his hips like a sassmaster. “I was…I was holding mom’s certificate and he got my name, is all.” 

“Certificate?” Tweek didn’t seem to be able to help asking. 

“Yeah, for like…her…certified death, proof, you know. Death certificate.” Clyde waved his hands in a way he meant to look dismissing but looked like he was swatting away invisible bug friends. “So. He sort of…met me? But I don’t know why he’s around!” He promised when the two looked at each other. “I don’t know why he settled on me! I thought he was gonna creep into my room last night and kill me!” 

“He just let you go?” Craig looked incredulous, like he thought Clyde might be bluffing. “Both then and now?” 

Oh, he was not saying shit about the meeting. 

“Yeah?” Clyde cringed. “I don’t know why.” 

Tweek looked back at the spot on the street that the villain had previously occupied. He was saying nothing, but there was something oddly contemplative in his expression. 

“So you can’t go home?” Craig asked, and Clyde’s heart jumped. 

“No, I’m gonna go home,” He protested. “If he wanted to slit my throat at home, he would have already, right?” Don’t press. Don’t press don’t press don’t press. 

“Chaos doesn’t really slit throats,” Craig pointed out. “He likes other methods more. Slower ones.” He watched the park burn without really focusing on it. “Maybe you should get out of town for a while. You call your dad?” 

Clyde cringed. “Hey,” He said, lifting his chin. “You and Tweek don’t get to play parents over here! I’m going home, and I’ll…I’ll stay off the streets a while. Maybe he’ll forget.” 

Craig did not look convinced. Luckily, Tweek interjected right about then. 

“I better not be the mom,” He grumbled, dragging a hand through his hair tiredly. Craig gave him an odd look. 

“Nah, Token’s elected group mom,” Clyde tried to say cheerfully. “But I’ll…I’ll be fine, guys. He mostly looked like he wanted to scare me, you know?”

Craig walked away. He was angry, and Clyde cringed. Out of worry, he knew, he knew Craig super well by now. But still, angry was angry. After losing someone close to him so soon, he really hated the idea that anyone might walk away from him mad. 

You never know, after all. 

Tweek made an irritated growling noise and gestured jerkily. 

“Come on,” He said grumpily. “You’ll stick with us today, got it?” 

“Got it,” He promised for the second time that day, and followed behind the two in uncharacteristic quiet.


	3. The clock-building-place

The watch factory. It used to be a centerpiece of the town, back when the center of town was like...way away from town. He had to walk all the way out here, and it was hot. This place was made way before Clyde was born. Way before even his parents would have been born. It was still a super cool building, huge and shaped kind of like a mantle clock, the center of it all windowed and extending upwards. Broken brick and shattered glass, and actually pretty intimidating even in the early afternoon.

Clyde touched the mask over his nose and mouth, making sure it was in place, and continued to look over his shoulder. No one jumped out of the alleyways, but the danger was straight ahead. 

The closer he got, the more he really regretted this. But true to his word, he didn’t bring anyone with him. He felt a little like he was walking straight into his death. 

But what choice did he have? Chaos knew who he was, he was showing up around his friends now, and if Craig or Tweek or Token got involved and got hurt it’d be his fault. He made a stupid move at the bank and looks like he was going to pay for it now. 

Plus, he was a hero! He had to pull out the super cool self-sacrificing moves at some point. 

Weird. Clyde slowed, the shadow of the building engulfing him. The door was new. The building was super broken but the door was new. And metal. And had a keypad next to it. 

Clyde walked up to it, tilting his head. Maybe he was supposed to be all secret-agent, get a makeup case with brush to get fingerprints and see what the code was. 

The door opened. Clyde froze, looking up at a redhead boy who looked very unhappy to be looking at him. 

The stared at each other, Clyde very unsure what to say. Everything sounded stupid, so he tried to play it safe. 

“Hi,” He said, and that sounded stupid too. 

“He’s got to be joking,” The guy said, and shoved his goggles up on his head. “You’re the brawler?” 

“I’m Mosquito,” Clyde felt just about as small. Play it…play it cool, right? “I was…Yeah, I’m supposed to-”

“Yeah, I know!” The boy made an odd kind of face, like he was in pain, and leaned against the doorframe. “You’re lucky the Professor okayed this. Are you armed?” 

“No,” Clyde held his arms out in a stupid sort of shrug. 

“Are you alone?” 

“Uh, yeah?” 

“Come on in,” The boy grumbled, letting him by and closing the door behind them. 

Clyde’s heart was racing. He was starting to realize who this was. General Disarray, Chaos’ right hand man. He wasn’t near as crazy as Chaos, which was both a good and bad thing. 

Like in his situation, the Professor was crazy enough to leave Clyde alive most of the time. Disarray was much more calculated and knew what he wanted. If he wanted you dead, you’d be dead. That’s all there was to it. 

Clyde stepped inside, feeling lightheaded. He was just…he was stupid, wasn’t he? His palms were sweating inside his gloves. 

He followed Disarray down the hall, realizing yeah, he was pretty stupid. And this was kinda surreal. 

First of all, this place was built like some kind of wild corporation on the inside. He swore that desk was a reception area, and the floors were clean even if they were concrete. There were actual walls, also concrete and kind of stained. 

Secondly, this was the actual lair for Chaos. Like where he lived, where he planned all the awful things he did, a place that if Clyde was allowed to leave, he could lead Mysterion right to the door. 

He wasn’t leaving alive. 

Clyde bit his lip so hard he could no longer feel it. It was times like this he wished his mother had left him something tangible. A necklace or bracelet or nick knack he could hold in his hands and steel himself, draw strength from a memory. 

He had nothing, so he followed silently along. 

It was quiet and the two traveled down the hall until they reached a door. The General typed in a passcode and the door lock snapped open, letting them through. He still wasn’t talking to Clyde. The boy kept adjusting his gloves, fingers shaking. 

The next room they passed through had to be the main part of the factory. There were rafters in the steel ceiling above, the tall glass windows letting the light in from outside. Minions were just…just everywhere, shipping containers and sheets hung to break up the main room into different areas. 

“I wouldn’t look too close if you wanna live,” Disarray warned. He jerked his head to the side. “This way. Boss’ quarters.” 

He averted his gaze and followed along obediently, leaving the loud room behind and leading into another long hall. This one was dirtier, broken bits of glass and ceramic? Maybe? Littered on the floor with garbage. There were no doors in this hall, just a long stretch with two turns to a steel door. 

The General paused, then looked over his shoulder. 

“Try anything,” He warned, “And we’ll kill you instantly.” 

“Yeah,” Clyde said in reply, picking at his gloves. Rub it in. Just rub it in, asshole. 

“Like if you even think of hurting him, we’ll end you,” Disarray continued, firmly. 

“Look, I’m just a brawler!” Clyde burst finally. “I can’t do shit! I don’t really think I could even get within ten yards of him if he didn’t want me to. Okay?” 

He had the distinct feeling the guy was about to laugh at him. 

“Good!” He opened the door. “Bye, now.” 

Clyde looked at the kid, who was smirking at him and waiting for him to pass through the door. He had the distinct feeling that he was waiting to see if he had the balls. 

He went ahead and walked through, hearing the door slam behind him. 

He swallowed, looking around. It was a circular room, with one window about what would be two stories up. Clyde took a step in. 

The floor was tiled instead of concrete, it was littered with papers and the walls had gouges in them. He nudged a soaked, fluttering piece of paper with his boot. Huh. Newspaper. Maybe he had a puppy. 

Clyde managed not to laugh hysterically at the image of the feared villain snuggling a corgi pup by gulping, taking another look around. 

The room was made weird. It was circular, but there were three different ‘doorways’, which were little more than rectangle holes in the wall, in the concrete. 

A shadow fell over the room, and Clyde looked up at the window. Chaos floated like a ghost in front of the frame, cloak flowing around him, caught in an imaginary wind. 

He was going to die. 

He wasn’t even going to get a good lick in first. He’d never make him regret it, or inflict enough pain to be permanent, or say something profound that would end up being his last words. Knowing himself, he’d probably cry like a weak little bitch and go out like a whining baby. 

“Clyde,” The Professor said, watching him with that too-bright smile. 

“Chaos,” And at least that sounded cool. Like they were true adversaries. He looked up at him, still and analyzing, floating above him. 

He wasn’t sure what to do with his hands. He crossed his arms, uncrossed them, put his hands on his hips, dropped them. Chaos floated over to the window, sitting on the ledge and watching him. It wasn’t really intimidating, to be honest. 

Clyde moved to sit on the dirty ground, figuring it didn’t matter how dirty he got if there was a good chance he was gonna die anyway. He watched the guy, who drew a boot to rest against the sill as well, watching interestedly. 

“You showed up,” The Professor commented. 

“Yeah.” Clyde decided he hated everyone. He wasn’t given a choice, was he the only person on the planet who cared what happened to his family and friends or what? 

Chaos’ free leg swung as he thought to himself. He tapped his chin like he was playing a part, tilting his head down at Clyde. 

“I have a plan for you,” The villain said sweetly. “But I gotta ask you a couple things first.” 

God his palms were so sweaty. “Okay?” He said, feeling a little like a broken record. 

Chaos looked happy, swinging his free leg. “How did your mom die?” He asked, easily, that same fake-nice smile plastered on his face. 

“No.” 

It took Clyde a moment to realize he was the one who said that. His stupid mind whirled in confusion, stuttering like rusty cogs in a clock. 

Fuck. His heart was racing, hos body felt clammy, and he wasn’t so sure it was because of who he was sitting by. 

Chaos was frowning now, watching him closely. “No?” He asked, voice lowering. 

Fuck it. 

“No!” Clyde told him, more firmly. His fingers were shaking, so he clenched them into fists. “You don’t get to ask me that!” 

The Professor’s eyes narrowed. His other leg swung down to dangle off the window frame as well. “I can ask whatever I want,” He said, and it was kinda along the lines of a petulant child. If he wasn’t who he was, it wouldn’t be scary at all. 

“Sure, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna answer!” Clyde argued back, committed to this now. He stumbled to his feet, his leg already having been asleep. “Why should I?” 

“You know who I am,” Chaos reminded him sharply, eyes cold. “So you can answer that yourself, can’tcha?” 

“You’re probably gonna kill me anyway,” Clyde pointed out. “I didn’t even tell my friends the details. And they were there for her funeral.” 

Chaos watched him. He was frowning. 

He pushed himself off the ledge, gracefully floating about five yards from Clyde. His cape flowed, again making him look intimidating as he just hung there, still. 

Clyde didn’t move. 

“You’re scared of me, right?” Chaos asked, almost like he was checking. 

He wasn’t sure what the best answer to that was. 

“Isn’t everybody?” The brawler pointed out, muscles locked to prevent the primitive urge to _run_. “You’re dangerous.” 

“No,” Chaos was closer, suddenly, hovering just out of reach. He leaned, smiling down at the brawler. His mismatched eyes were so…empty, cold. “I’m crazy.” 

Here was where he should say something cool. Clyde stared back at him, eyes flitting between the villain’s. 

Say something. Like…like ‘you have to be to try keeping me under your will’, or ‘I’m glad you admit you aren’t dangerous’, or ‘you must be crazy if you think I’ll do what you say.’ Actually, saying anything would have been better than what he did. 

“Ah. Cool.” Clyde finally dismissed him, like the guy was a three year old tugging at his skirts. “I’m more scared of what you might do to my friends, to be honest.” 

Both of them were quiet for a second. Chaos tilted his head. He came closer, reaching. 

Clyde had his mask pulled off, gently, snapping over his ears. He winced, staring up at the villain, who reached for his face as Clyde cringed away. He squished his face softly in his hands and pursed his lips. 

“I’m looking for a hero,” Chaos said, something new and earnest in his voice. “Chaos isn’t any fun without a foil, y’know.” 

“Don’t you have-” He caught himself before he said ‘Mysterion,’ not really on his own accord but because the Professor’s fingernails suddenly dug into his cheeks. Ouch. 

“Okay, not mentioning You-Know-Who,” Clyde wanted very badly to shove his hands away. He was too close, his eyes too uneven, a ripped scar around his wounded eye that was hard not to stare at. At least it sounded like he wasn’t going to kill him immediately. “Why me? ‘Cause you think I’m not gonna stop you?”

Chaos squished his face until he couldn’t keep his lips closed. This guy was like the touchy aunt you never liked but you mom made you hug anyway. “Do you think you could?” The villain asked, “Stop me, I mean?” 

No. 

Clyde wasn’t dumb, no matter what people said. He was loud, enthusiastic, flirtatious with the ladies, cracked bad jokes and referenced vines in battle whenever he could, only partly to make Craig throw something at him. 

He wasn’t stupid. 

He knew where brawlers stood on the superhero hierarchy scale. And he knew where he stood on the brawler hierarchy scale. He might’ve fooled himself when he started, all bright eyed and excited to fight crime alongside his best pals, but he knew. 

When it came to how good he was in battle, Clyde was the bottom of the barrel. Or maybe even the barrel floor. Bottom. Whatever it was called. But if there was something he was good at, it was attempting things he knew he didn’t have a chance at. 

“I’d try,” He said honestly, through smushed lips, “I tried at the bank.” 

And technically didn’t beat him, but The Professor suddenly beamed. 

“Yeah,” He said, and finally let go. “Yeah, you did.” He floated just a few feet away, watching Clyde. 

“C’mere,” He said, and led the boy down one of the other entrances he saw when he first walked in. 

He jogged after him, pulling his hat further down his ears. Chaos led him into a short hall that led out to a back deck, behind the building overlooking what must have been the loading dock back when the factory was operational. 

Chaos easily stepped over the tall guard rail, sitting on it like a simple kid on a tree branch. 

Clyde walked next to him, draping his arms over the sides and looking out. 

Everything was empty. 

He could see the skyscrapers of the city, shorter apartment buildings just outside the main hub, all way across what was more or less a sea of desolate, empty, broken buildings. Old apartments, warehouses, factories, shipping facilities. 

Everything kinda had the same dusty-beige look to it. Where the city was mostly steel and cool blues, this was like a desert. Concrete and broken shipping containers and abandoned shacks and dead plants. 

Clyde rested his chin on the rail. Chaos’ cape fluttered between them like a barrier. 

Lonely. That was the word that came to mind as he watched the city from afar. Really lonely. 

“You’re gonna be a good hero, Clyde,” Chaos said, watching over the sad desert. 

He kind of already was a hero, but Clyde wasn’t stupid. 

“Thanks,” He cautiously replied, risking a glance at the guy. His bad eye was facing him, all off-colored and looking like his pupil was leaking into the colored part. The part named after a flower he couldn’t think of. 

“You’re awfully brave,” The villain set his heels on the lower bar, absently jiggling a leg. “Lots of heroes wouldn’t have done what you did in the bank.” 

Well that was just an awkward compliment he didn’t know what to do with. 

“Eh, my friends would have too,” Clyde didn’t know the protocol to accepting compliments from a supervillain. ‘Thanks’ would sound too weird. “I have some pretty cool ones.”

Tweek had been all ready to throw hands at Chaos for getting close to him. Craig jumped right into that fight. Token was going to kill him once he figured out what he did. Or else just be super disappointed until he felt bad. Jimmy might put this in a routine. Once he knew Clyde was actually totally okay and wasn’t going to end up blown to smithereens. 

He was actually totally okay, wasn’t he? 

He looked over at Chaos again, who reached and this time stole his hat, exposing spiky, sweaty hat hair to the sunlight. 

“I think you’ll make people proud,” The guy said, smiling at him with that creepily-earnest grin. “If they’re not already.”

“Uh…” There was literally no good response to that. None. He couldn’t think of any after and he certainly didn’t find one in the moment. 

The Professor threw his hat and mask at him and stretched as Clyde fumbled for them, stepping off the rail to hover by the door. 

“Stairs down there,” He pointed out to Clyde. “I’ll see you soon. Get some sleep, you look awful and I’m gonna need you to be in tip top shape, okay?” 

“’Kay,” Clyde held the pieces of his uniform and stared back at him. 

They looked at each other. 

Oh. 

“I’m gonna go, then,” Clyde waved slightly, scooting off to take the stairs double and jump off the last four. He looked over his shoulder to see Professor Chaos watching, hands on the rail and standing on the ground. 

Weird. The guy was weird. Scary and weird. 

A hero. He didn’t really think Chaos picked him because he was impressed. Kinda sounded like he was bored without Mysterion and wanted an adversary. Him, he would’ve chosen WonderStrike. Or Kite- no, Kite was out of the game, that’s where Mysterion was. Terabyte, then, or somebody, anyone else would’ve been better if he wanted equal. 

Nah, he’d have to figure this out. In the meantime, maybe Chaos would be less scary if he seemed to treat Clyde nicer than everyone else. Maybe. That would have to be seen. 

Clyde moved into a jog and wished Uber came out this way.


	4. Stop throwing cars, dammit

The thing about being a superhero, it was both nothing like the movies and somehow _exactly_ like the movies at the same time. 

You see, there was always something going on. That whole thing about bad guys coming out of the woodwork really, genuinely was right. Sometimes you barely had a second to breathe, a building got constructed just to be knocked down a week after re-opening by some dickhead with meteor powers or some shit. But that led to how it wasn’t at all like superhero movies. 

You couldn’t just rip off your clothes and run around in a skin-tight uniform to save every cat in a tree. Heroes had to pick and choose, often using only certain situations or villains to make their move and leap into action. Especially when they worked actual jobs. Couldn’t just drop your tray at Applebee’s and run out the back door, you needed to keep your job and pay your rent and also, being a hero was really super illegal. 

All of these reasons was why Clyde didn’t drop his tray, and instead peered out the window with the other stupid employees while the smarter ones were in the back with the patrons. 

“I can’t even see who it is,” One of his coworkers whined to the other, who was searching through the news for an answer. 

Clyde was leaning over a hastily-abandoned table, not quite brave enough to step outside. There was a car fire, he could see that. Not a soul in the streets, he didn’t see a single person at all. Just empty stores, empty cars, the eerie quiet of the half-constructed building next door. 

“No one knows,” His coworkers were snapping back and forth in the moment. “God, we need someone specifically to follow heroes around or something, I never know about anything fun until it’s already over.”

Clyde pressed his cheek against the clean windows, trying to see down the street. He didn’t even have his uniform, he wouldn’t be able to actually do anything, but he liked to stay updated. There had been three whole days without any news from Chaos, it would totally be just like him to suddenly leap into the frenzy that was the city. 

A day never went by without something going on, just different levels. You had crazy-costumed guys robbing convenience stores, or making threats against public places, breaking into houses, sure. But nothing held a candle to the supervillains. Even a lot of the most good-intentioned heroes refused to deal with them. 

Only now, Clyde was apparently ‘enemy-adopted’ by one, so now he had to be vigilant. If this was Chaos, fuck the job, he had to _go_. 

A car was suddenly whizzing down the street, clearing the flaming two-door by at least twenty feet before crashing to the ground and bouncing, somersaulting right across the dotted line. 

Stupidly, him and his other two stupid coworkers stupidly pressed against the windows instead of running into the back. Holy shit. The car finally crashed into a light pole, taking it out and letting it clatter onto the ground with an eerie echo. 

Clyde stumbled into one of his coworkers as they raced to the other side of the restaurant, standing on tiptoe to peer out the taller windows to try and see where it came from. There wasn’t a lot of visibility, but Clyde did see three costumed people race across an intersection. 

His heart sank. Had he seen that right? The uniforms were often easily-confused, right? Not too distinct. This wasn’t him, not again. 

A flash, blinding light, connecting from light pole to light pole, the bulbs exploding with a pop as the light raced down the street, fizzling out at the end in a super anti climatic way. Clyde clambered up on a chair, leaning on a table, nearly sticking his knee in someone’s cheesy pasta. 

There were lots of light flashes, all off in the distance. Clyde couldn’t see the sources. But it meant something. He bit his lip, half-standing on the table, trying to get a good look outside. 

A boom, something else big crashing farther away from them. He couldn’t see anything, peering up at the sky to look for flying heroes, something to tell him who was around. And saw debris falling from the construction building, sliding lethargically down onto the street. 

The sound was unreal, a high-pitched tinging that rang in his ears and made him cringe away from the window. Heavy poles and sheets of metal hit the ground, bouncing or making divots in the asphalt. 

The three employees backed away from the windows, covering their ears. Poles came crashing in through the windows, sending them running for cover and shrieking. Clyde was covered in glass, small beads spilling off his shoulders as they raced for the back wall. 

His coworkers were talking, but it sounded like it coming from under water. He knew, he already knew and he was trying to make excuses for himself not to go. He didn’t have his uniform, he didn’t want to get fired, he didn’t know for sure it was him. 

Something was going on to make him start ripping up the city like this. Some kind of fight was going on. Clyde was pressed with his back against the wall, breathing heavily and feeling tingling all over his body. 

He was a coward. He was a disappointment. 

He couldn't be a disappointment anymore. 

Clyde darted for the front door with a sinking heart, hearing his coworkers call after him, and he stepped out into the blinding sunlight. 

He was already sweating, black button up and slacks brutal in the heat, pausing in the street to look around. There were marks in the ground, chunks taken out, and he could hear shit going down further down the street, screeches, sirens. 

Clyde ran, walking over the uneven metal sheets and hopping over the wide cylinders and poles that fell from the building above. Whatever was going on, it was hellbent on causing destruction. 

The poor coupe never stood a chance and continued billowing black smoke as Clyde rounded the corner. There were pedestrians cowering in storefronts, entire fronts of buildings on the street, he was stepping over metal letters scattered on the ground and exposed water pipes. 

Lots of others were traveling down the road, ducking and running to try and find shelter. Clyde watched them, coworkers and families and friends just running for their lives. 

This was unreal. What the fuck was happening? 

A flash, Clyde froze to try and find it source. Light zinged down the street, he flinched but it never came close to him, arching above the streets like it came from high up. That was great and all, but it also meant he couldn’t find him. 

He pulled his phone out of his apron, crouching in front of the niche little coffee shop Tweek practically lived at. He drew his knees to his chest, shaking fingers drawing up any local twitter accounts he had saved just for this purpose. 

Nothing, lots about them being with people who were hiding, but it was Chaos. Definitely Chaos. And? 

Two names he didn’t recognize. Some Elemental-Brawler hybrid and a Speedster, both identifies as enemies, all three scattered through the city. Clyde was smack in the middle of Chaos’ area, he was identified as wandering around in a little circle in this part of the city. 

He’d worry about the other two nobodies later. 

Clyde slipped his phone back in his pocket, back still pressed against the cool concrete. There was just…debris everywhere, buildings and upturned cars and sirens in the distance. 

Oh fuck, what was he doing? He was useless, he was stupid, these were all super-powered villains: Elemental/Psychics, Elemental/Brawlers, a Speedster. 

And what was he? A Brawler, technically. That can communicate with little bug friends. Like…half fist fighter, half super shitty Disney Princess. 

Like now, he could feel people all together, in buildings, down the street. The apartments above the Italian restaurant, the parking garage. 

The parking garage. 

Weird. It was like the one place without a lot of people in it. If he’d been caught in the middle of a fight at the parking garage, he’d hustle people into the lower floor for protection. But not a soul was in there, minus a body up on floor four. 

Clyde chewed the inside of his cheek. He took a look around and ran across the street, leaping back over the debris, tripping on a street sign, and ran around the gates. 

Now he couldn’t take the elevator. Elevators weren’t super heroic. So he had the bright idea to fucking _run_ all the way there. Not even up the staircase, he didn’t even fucking think of it, he fucking ran up the ramp cars drove on like a stupid motherfucker. 

He was cursing himself out by the time he reached the floor, slowing to a walk to lean against a comforting-looking mom van. He was sweating so heavily he pretty much stuck to the side. Yuck. 

A crash, and someone hurtled a little sedan through the open gap between floor and ceiling down to the ground below. 

Hold on, now. 

Clyde peeled himself from the van, concentrating on the one other person in the building. He peered around the corner, seeing a floating, pissed supervillain slamming his fists down on the top of a red car. It _was_ him, just like he thought. Ruining people's hard-earned vehicular transportation, too, the jackass. 

“Hey, stop throwing shit!” Clyde called over to him, and Chaos lifted his head. 

It was like he was pinned, he stopped short at the look in his eyes. Pale, cold, infuriated. Clyde froze, suddenly realizing all over who he was talking to. 

He could raze the city to the ground in a day. The two people you absolutely did not mess with were continuously entangled in a war. And Clyde was now, somehow, being dragged into it. He was so out of his league and Chaos was going to kill him before it was over. 

“Get out of here,” Chaos said, petulantly, gaze falling back down. 

“Look, it’s not- I can’t,” Clyde stammered over his words, but didn't falter as he walked towards the villain who floated ominously above the ground. “You said I’ve got to stop you. Here I am.” 

Chaos crossed his arms over the roof of the suv, resting his chin on top of them. “And what are you going to do?” He snapped, but Clyde no longer felt that weird aura of chill and rage from him. 

So he went to the car next to him, clambering up, sliding awkwardly until he managed to sit on the roof. It made it easier to watch Chaos almost on eye level. The villain peered over at him, jaw set and expression more tired than angry. 

Funny. He didn’t think a lot about villains as people. So like, thinking someone looked tired was kind of weird when they also once set the police station on fire for shits and giggles. 

“What’s up?” Clyde asked finally, instead of answering his original question. “How did you even _pick up _a car?”__

__“Doesn’t matter,” Chaos rested his forehead against his arms._ _

__Okay. He didn’t seem super mad about him being here, though. It was like he was pulling his punches whenever he was concerned. He could fling Clyde off the building if he wanted, but he was pouting instead of breaking his bones. He wasn’t even supposed to be asking the Professor questions, but he didn’t seem angry._ _

__Clyde crossed his legs, tilting his head. The noise out in the city was still going on, and Clyde licked his lips._ _

__Now what? Chaos wasn’t exactly doing anything, aside from flinging someone’s ride home out garage windows. Hopefully the owner had insurance._ _

__“You doing okay?” He finally asked, feeling utterly stupid asking Professor Chaos of all people this kind of thing._ _

__“Ugh, Clyde, don’t ask that,” Chaos whined into his arms, as intimidating as a three-legged kitten. A kitten with huge ears and sad eyes. “What an awful day.”_ _

__Clyde could still hear the screeching, panic, and sirens down below._ _

__“Yeah,” He said, awkwardly. No shit, look at all this unsettling stuff going on down in the city. He wasn’t really in the land of the Sane and Normal, was he? Not that he could ever say something like that. You had to make crazy people think they weren't crazy, or it'd end up bad for you. He saw that in movies. “I…feel that, man.” Still, he felt fucking stupid._ _

__Chaos snorted, though, and looked up, looking over the hero quickly. “You were at work.”_ _

__“Yeah,” He said again, sitting on top of a car in a food chain uniform and talking to Professor Chaos. “Gotta pay rent, you know?”_ _

__The villain hummed, and Clyde noticed he looked pretty smacked around. He got into a fight. He bit his tongue to keep from asking with who. Now his eyes were trained on Clyde and it was very unsettling._ _

__A crash echoed from down below, then a bizarre sound roared on for a full fifteen seconds. Like a crackling, thudding noise. Clyde jumped and Chaos didn’t even turn his head. The apron-clad-hero leapt down from the car, peering out below._ _

__The ground looked like it had been torn up, like a giant grabbed the street and ripped it away from the earth. A red figure was at the end of it, and Clyde stood on his toes as if the added height might clear his vision._ _

__“What’s this?” He blurted, all but leaning out over the concrete like an idiot._ _

__“Some new kids on the block,” Chaos’ voice dipped back to angry. “Stupid assholes who have no fucking idea who they’re messing with.”_ _

__Oh._ _

__“Holy shit, they kicked your ass?” Clyde squeaked, unmanly and panicked. Someone got the upper hand of Professor Chaos, the scourge of the city and bane of Mysterion, the Shadow Vigilante?_ _

__Chaos narrowed his eyes, going back to the I’ll-rip-your-eyeballs-out vibe he had going on a regular basis. Clyde didn’t even have an idea on how to backtrack on that, but luckily he seemed to set the guy off on a more productive path than gouging out his eyes._ _

__“They think they did, but they’re wrong!” He seethed, shoving himself away from the car, cape billowing impressively. “They have no idea who I am, what I’m capable of, I am _Chaos,_ and I’m going to make them regret this!” _ _

__Clyde watched him, still halfway out the window. Okay. Good mindset, dude. Too bad you’re a clearly psychotic supervillain, but least you’re one with a good attitude._ _

__Trying very hard not to say that, he pulled himself back away from the window. “Cool. I mean, it’s not like unusual for new guys to get the jump on you, anyway. Look at Kite, right? He nearly got taken out by that new kid.”_ _

__Chaos’ eyes narrowed at him, and Clyde clamped his mouth shut. The look passed, however, and the villain leaned against the car._ _

__“Wish I could have,” He said wistfully. “I didn’t realize he was _that_ close to- well.” He crossed his arms. “I could have exploited that ages ago, gosh. I had no idea.” _ _

__Not for the first time, Clyde decided Chaos was really fucking weird. He said that so blissfully, like he wanted it more than anything. It made him feel a little sick. “Uh huh.”_ _

__Brightening, Chaos floated up, looking down at Clyde with his benevolent sort of smile. “I guess your shift is over now, right?” He asked cheerfully, as if he’d walked in the front doors to ask Clyde on a date, not throw cars out a window in a tantrum because he got his ass whooped by other villains._ _

__“Uh…” Clyde had no idea how to respond to that one._ _

__“You should come back to the lair!” He said happily. “I have something to show you! We can go now!”_ _

__Clyde stood, feeling small and stupid, in an embroidered button up and an apron, sneakers that were untied and beaten up and he was sweating in the heat and from exertion. This should not ever have been a conversation he should be having. He was nothing, dude. Like…why him?_ _

__And maybe that question continued to lead him to follow everything asked for._ _

__“I mean, I guess technically I’m not working?” Clyde automatically went to pull his mask down and realized that, of course, he wasn’t wearing it, smacking himself lightly in the face. “Uhm. Do I have to see it now?”_ _

__“It’s best you do,” Chaos said genially, smiling down at him. “I can’t have my enemy around when I’m doing some big stuff. Now or never, Mosquito, what do you say?”_ _

__What does he say? He came out here knowing he’d come across him. He more or less sought him out. He _accepted_ this, proving once and for all that he was not the sharpest egg in the attic, proving that he was willing to run on this suicide mission to the end of the road. _ _

__Because how could this end, but him dead? Chaos was crazy, he admitted that himself. He switched tones and moods in a second. Any moment, he could decide Clyde wasn’t worth keeping around and annihilate him, and his friends._ _

__Clyde felt a pang, wishing at least one of them was here now. He could use some rationality right about now._ _

__Chaos was waiting, floating closer and extending his hand. He was smiling, with all the delight of an old schoolmate meeting a friend unexpectedly._ _

__“Aw, Clyde,” He said, voice saccharine sweet. “You know by now that I’m not gonna hurt’cha, right?”_ _

__That sounded about as sincere as if it came from the devil himself, but okay._ _

__Clyde reached, clasping his calloused hand like a pact. “Alright,” He said, and Chaos’ grin lit up._ _


	5. This is a bad place to cry

They went back to the lair. Chaos did not want to talk on the way over, only telling Clyde to ‘Hush, you’ll see it soon!’ and leaving him to trail behind, still in his work clothes. 

They crossed the no-man’s-land of the city, a desert of abandoned buildings and cars and shipping containers, half-buried train tracks and chipped streets. Clyde was sweating, soaking his work shirt, having untied his apron and let it fling behind him like a bizarre cape in order to try and relieve the heat. 

He trudged behind the villain, arms crossed and apron strings getting caught on every twisted piece of metal and poles sticking up out of the ground. He wished he could call someone. Beg Craig to come get him, bring Tweek and Token and _get him the fuck out of here_. 

Up ahead, the structure loomed, casting a shadow over the two.

He hated this. He hated being in this position. He hated having to be this person, people were counting on him and he wasn’t sure what would happen if he fucked up here and Chaos got to do whatever he wanted. 

“Hurry up, Clyde!” Chaos called cheerfully, landing briefly next to a door he hadn’t seen before and opening the way. “I don’t want my minions to see you.” 

Clyde swiped his face on his sleeve, stepping into the cool relief of the lair. There were little fans set up around the door, which would be kind of hilarious is he wasn’t scared out of his mind. 

He wanted to ask what they were going to see, but he’d been told no questions and he was now really starting to freak out. Had he stepped over a line? Was Chaos finally going to tie him by the ankles over an alligator pit or something? 

He trotted behind, tracing the outline of his phone in his pocket. He didn’t know if Chaos knew he had a phone. Could he call someone without him noticing? God, this stupid place made him so freaking nervous. 

It was like going over to someone’s house you didn’t know so well, only they were also crazy and possibly out to kill you, so you had to really watch your manners before they made you into a tablecloth or something. 

Clyde’s runaway thoughts came to a screeching halt as Chaos paused, typing something into a keypad by the next door. 

“Alright, it’s behind here,” Chaos was saying, sounding very satisfied. “You’re so slow, Clyde, hurry up!” 

This room was mostly dark, sending Clyde’s heart racing. The ceiling must be huge, there were windows thirty feet up in the dark. There were lights, the kind used by construction buildings scattered around the floor, illuminating haphazard tables and a couple folded chairs. The room was bigger than what Clyde could see, which was terrifying, and he kept sending nervous glances into the dark corners. 

“Go on,” Chaos said cheerfully. “Go look.” 

Everything was placed in a circle around a folding slate, kind of like an old fashioned chalkboard, with a huge map spread over the board. 

Chaos was floating by, waiting, arms crossed and watching. Clyde looked back at the board, glancing quickly at the supervillain before slowly approaching the map. 

His steps sounded too loud, shuffling across dirty concrete as he stepped over extension cords and around tables with nothing on them. He stopped in front of the board, hearing himself breathing. 

The map was printed and encompassed the entire city. Little circles were drawn, about two dozen in total, scattered around and encompassing just about every kind of building you could think of…coffee shops, houses, commercial buildings, apartments. 

“Hurry up,” Chaos was saying again, hurrying him _again_. “Take a look at it, and then you gotta go. This is your only hint, Clyde.” 

His breaths were faster, almost heaving, as his gaze flit over the circles randomly spotted over the map. 

This was his plan. He was giving Clyde a chance to look at what his next plan was. Where he was going to go and what he was going to do. He was giving the brawler a chance to prepare for whatever was coming. He had a chance to prepare for whatever was coming. 

He was frozen, trying to breathe as the edges of the map seemed to fuzz, like the dark corners of the room. 

“Got it yet?” Chaos was asking. 

There was a reason Mysterion was the only one who tried to handle this kind of crazy. The vigilante was scary, intelligent, capable of taking down hordes of people on his own. 

Clyde was a low-tier hero who could talk to bugs. 

He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be responsible for this. He had no way to prepare for whatever was coming and definitely wouldn’t be able to stop it. 

He wouldn’t be able to stop it. 

His fingers were twisted into his own apron, pulling it away from his face. The map blurred, green smears among a white page, he was the only person allowed to see it and he was going to get people killed. 

He was going to be responsible for people being killed. 

“Wha- Clyde?!” Chaos’ voice sounded like it was coming from under water, faraway from where the boy stood, staring at the city map. 

“No no no no no, don’t- stop, you don’t have to-” Chaos landed next to him, cloak brushing Clyde’s side at the closeness. 

The supervillain went to the board, picking up a green marker and turning back around, twisting the pen in his hands. 

“Hey, look, I’ll give you a clue, alright?” Chaos leaned back, uncapping the pen. “I gotcha, I’ll give you a clue, look!” 

He circled something repeatedly with zeal on the board, but Clyde broke. 

He was never actually going to be a real hero. He was never going to be able to keep people from getting hurt. He wasn’t smart enough for this, he was just some stupid kid in a costume that tagged along with people cooler than him. In school, on the streets. It took him forever to learn that. 

Clyde had somehow curled in on himself, on his knees, and he couldn’t get a full breath. He was so over his head. He was going to get them hurt, everyone was going to get hurt and this time it was going to be his fault, it was his fault, he was standing in a supervillain’s lair being given a hint he didn’t _understand_ and everyone was going to die. 

“Look, look over here!” Chaos was smacking his palm against the whiteboard, sounding more agitated. “Look at the circle. You know this. C’mon Clyde, don’t do this!”

“SHUT UP!” Clyde whipped his hands away from his face, angry tears streaming down his cheeks. “Just shut up!” 

His voice rang around the room, Chaos’ expression fading to something unreadable. Clyde was too distraught to care. 

“I’m not Mysterion!” The boy stumbled to his feet, glaring through furious tears. “Don’t treat me like I am!” 

“I’m not,” Chaos’ unmatched eyes were unfriendly. “I’m- don’t.” 

“Well stop it!” Clyde wasn’t making sense and didn’t give a shit. “Just stop putting me through this, I don’t care what you do to me anymore, I’m not doing this anymore!”

Professor Chaos stared him down, eyes bright in the dim lighting. “Yeah?”

“Whatever you want to do, stop holding it over my head!” Clyde was standing in his work clothes and apron, crying, staring down the feared supervillain like a child having a tantrum. “I can’t do this! I can’t!” 

The villain tilted his head, just watching. 

“I’m not like Mysterion!” He cried, “I can’t ever do anything to stop you, the only reason I’m not fucking _dead_ already is you haven’t wanted to kill me yet!”

“Stop,” Chaos was saying, watching Clyde like he was some kind of weird alien. 

“ _You_ stop!” Clyde said, breaking into shaking sobs. 

He was such a fucking baby. Who was he kidding, dressing up like a hero and marching around the streets like he had a right to be there? Everyone just patted him on the head and told him he was fine, but they were lying, they were always lying and he was stupid enough to believe it. 

Chaos touched down right in front of him, boots settling on the ground, and Clyde meant to take a breath that turned into a shuddering gasp. It was one thing to give a blubbery ‘hit me with your best shot, bitch’ and another to actually realize what he was saying. The guy was still much taller than him even when he was standing on the ground, cloak fluttering against Clyde’s legs. 

The supervillain’s arms wrapped around his shoulders.

He pulled him close, flush against his reinforced chestpiece and cold metal accents. He squeezed Clyde, like he was afraid he’d run away. Funnily enough, the thought didn’t cross his mind. 

He cried, head dropping against his chest as the ultra-supervillain hugged him tightly. Clyde’s arms were limp by his sides, the blond gently patting his back as he just sobbed his heart out. 

He was tired of not being able to sleep, of lying on the floor of his apartment on a mattress, staring at the ceiling as thoughts swarmed his brain. Of feeling this pressing, horrific danger all the freaking time, unable to look or ask for help or have a single moment where he could relax.

Chaos had a snuggly kind of hug. He shifted from foot to foot, seemingly out of the want to soothe rather than discomfort at Clyde’s outburst. 

He probably should be uncomfortable, actually. 

Clyde tore himself away, face wet and blue eyes reddened. Chaos slowly lowered his arms, gripping his arm awkwardly with one hand as he looked at the Brawler. 

The two stared at each other, Clyde sniffling in the empty silence. 

The supervillain remained standing on the ground, walking forward to gently take Clyde’s hand. The brunet let him, staring openly as the other led him back to the board. 

This was… not what he would have expected. This guy was genuinely, 100% nuts. Famous enemy bows out? Go find a total dumbass to raise from the bottom of the ranks and treat him like a fierce hero. Other villains stealing the spotlight? Throw a giant tantrum and throw cars off a building. Said dumbass hero finally break? Hug him. 

Chaos squeezed his hand, and Clyde tried to take his hand away from him. The Professor let him, though he visibly pouted. 

Clyde scrubbed at his face, fingers shaking, and the supervillain made a little hop, back up floating in the air. 

“You’re awful stressed,” The villain noted obviously, twisting his hands. “Clyde, I don’t think you’re alright.” 

“Shut up,” Clyde said petulantly, voice croaking. 

Chaos did, actually, chewing on his lip with furrowed brows. 

“D’you wanna look at the board again?” Chaos offered, and Clyde shook his head. 

“I won’t get it,” His quivering lips twisted into a smile. “What’s the point?”

The supervillain narrowed his eyes, tapping his chin. 

“Clyde,” He said brightly all of a sudden. “Give me your phone.”

His heart just about stopped. He knew he had a phone. How did he know he had a phone? Clyde stared, eyes wide, before reaching into his apron pocket and offering up his phone. 

Chaos took it with a hum, sliding up to open the photo app and line up a picture. 

The brunet watched. His limbs felt heavy, his chest ached, and he was about a couple seconds away from crying again. Chaos had his tongue sticking out as he snapped a picture, checking it before floating back with a bright smile. 

“Here!” He took Clyde’s hand, sandwiching it between his own with the phone pressed against the hero’s palm. “You got a picture. You can take it home, go study it!” 

It was like he wasn’t even listening. Clyde didn’t know where along the lines he expected to be listened to, but he was standing there in the middle of the room wondering why the fuck this guy wasn’t fucking listening to what he was saying. 

“I’ll let you ask someone,” He said eagerly, mis-matched and too-wide eyes unblinking. “One person, okay? I’ll okay just one person, you should get help, Clyde…I don’t want you upset over this.” 

Crazy. Don’t forget, he was crazy. Clyde swallowed, heart pounding in his chest. “Uh…can it be two?” He asked, knowing that his greatest allies were going to rip each other apart for a secret. 

“We-ell,” Chaos drew out, letting his hands slip from Clyde’s. “Can’t be anyone who’s actually in town. That’s the only…only rule, okay? Nobody in town.” 

No one in town. Clyde’s face fell, and Chaos went back to twisting his hands. 

“You should go home,” He told him, voice softer, less chipper, almost genuine. “Get some rest. I’m awful worried about you, Clyde.” 

“Well don’t be,” Clyde’s voice broke in the middle of his attempt to brush that stupidity aside, and Chaos smiled. 

“I’m awful worried about you,” He said, still in that warm voice. 

Clyde said nothing. 

“Want me to make sure you get home okay?” The supervillain asked, back to cheer. 

“No,” Clyde said awkwardly. “I can walk home.” 

The supervillain was watching him expectantly. Ah. Time for him to go. 

“So.” The hero slipped his phone back in his pocket, wiping at his cheeks one more time, in case he still looked like a blubbering baby. 

Oh god, he cried in front of a supervillain. Kill him now. 

“Bye,” Clyde took a couple steps back before turning around and heading towards the door, a fast-paced speedwalk as his throat constricted again for some reason. 

“Other door, Clyde!” Chaos called after him. “I’ll see you later!” 

The Brawler didn’t respond to that, heart pounding, confused and frightened and heartbroken.


End file.
